1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to trays placed in a bucket or like container and separate, removable compartmented inserts removably installable in those trays. At least some of the trays may include movable or removable partitions therein, providing for the customizing of the interior space within such trays. The trays, inserts, and adjustable partitions provide for the conversion of a general utility bucket into an organized container for small parts and other articles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In manufacturing, assembling, and construction of buildings, it is frequently necessary to maintain at hand a selection of fasteners, small parts, and like items. These items must be separated into collections of like objects, so that a user retrieves one such object, and spends little time verifying that he or she has retrieved the correct item. Storing a variety of such small parts or objects, and making the same readily available for retrieval has been the subject of prior art patents.
The present applicant has developed a system of stackable trays which when placed in a general utility bucket, provides a person with an inexpensive, rugged, practical means of storing and organizing small parts. This system is seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. D325,281, issued on Apr. 7, 1992, and 5,154,303, issued on Oct. 13, 1992. Each tray overlies its predecessor, and is divided into plural compartments.
Another system of trays for organizing a bucket is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,925, issued Mar. 27, 1990 to Daniel E. Venegoni. Venegoni '295 discloses a series of vertically stacked trays, each subdivided into compartments. However, the Venegoni structure is unlike that of the present invention as recited in the accompanying claims.
The above devices of the present applicant and of Venegoni '295 share a feature in these patents, each tray has an open center with a strap or handle straddling the opening. Each tray is readily grasped and removed by the strap or handle.
The relevant art cited above explicitly cooperates with buckets for conversion to organized storage receptacles, which is an object of the present invention. There are other known arrangements providing compartmentalized, vertically stacked trays for receptacles, such as those shown in U. S. Pat. Nos. 2,919,169, issued to Carl A. Jackson on Dec. 29, 1959, and 3,751,845, issued to Marion van Leeuwen on Aug. 14, 1973.
Vertically stacked trays for organizing a receptacle are further seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,292,499, issued to William Walsh on Aug. 11, 1942 and 5 062,539, issued to John W Chandler on Nov. 5, 1991.
Compartmentalizing a tray is seen in U. S. Pat. Nos. 1,750,258, issued to Donald D. Brown on Mar. 11, 1930, and 5,044,537, issued to Jeffery P. Bufalo on Sep. 3, 1991.
Separate, complementary, pie slice shaped compartments for organizing a single level of a receptacle are exemplified in U. S. Pat. No. 1,760,761, issued to Carl March on May 27, 1930.
In addition to the above patents and/or prior art documents, applicant is aware of the following patents which were provided in an Office Action issued during the prosecution of the parent application to the present continuation in part patent application.
U. S. Pat. No. 1,277,253 issued to David N. Paschal on Aug. 27, 1918 discloses a Cooking Utensil having a single tier of removable inserts with radially projecting handles, precluding complete insertion into another container.
U. S. Pat. No. 1,977,092 issued to Lewis H. Scurlock on Oct. 16, 1934 discloses a Food Container Unit having a plurality of radially removable containers on a revolving base. The containers are not vertically stacked atop one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,980,280 issued to Erik Herlow on Apr. 18, 1961 discloses a Hollow Ware Service Set comprising a plurality of nesting containers each having a different diameter. Removal of all preceding containers is required to remove one of the containers.
U. S. Pat. No. 3,117,692 issued to Robert L. Carpenter et al. on Jan. 4, 1964 discloses a Container And Lid Assembly in which a plurality of containers are stacked atop the lids of one another, and are not enclosed within an outer container, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,827 issued to Maurie Laskin on Aug. 27, 1968 discloses Trays, And Multi-Tray Packages including a bottom plate having a rod extending vertically upward therefrom. The trays must be stacked over the central rod, unlike the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,278 issued to Marie H. I. A. von Boch-Galhau on Jul. 31, 1973 discloses a Set Of Different Dinner-Ware Articles which fit or nest together. In most of the various embodiments, the articles are of different diameters, and even in one configuration wherein the central articles have the same diameter, the top and bottom articles are of different diameter. None of the articles are compartmented, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,363 issued to Alfred Wolfseder on Oct. 28, 1986 discloses a Multiple Tray-Shaped Packing And Storage Unit in which various containers are stacked atop one another and interlock, thus removing requirement for an outer container or bucket, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,412 issued to Don Graves on Jul. 12, 1988 discloses a Fishing Tackle Box including concentric revolving compartmented units, with a sliding drawer therebeneath.
Finally, French Patent Publication No. 874,923 to Vereinigte Lausitzer Glaswerke Aktienagsellschaft and published on Aug. 31, 1942 discloses a group of receptacles for use with refrigerators. A plurality of generally rectangular containers and lids generally each of different dimensions, are provided. The containers or trays are not of uniform size and configuration, as provided by the present invention.
None of the above noted patents, taken either singly or in combination, are seen to disclose the specific arrangement of concepts disclosed by the present invention.